Arizona Cardinals star Travis Vokolek has announced his retirement from football at the age of just 28.
The tight end suffered a horrific severe neck injury last October that saw him carted off the field and brought his 2025 season to an abrupt end.
Vokolek has now revealed that the injury is also bringing his career to a brutal end, forcing him into an early retirement.
He shared a post on social media this week, revealing that doctors had advised him to retire from the sport.
‘After numerous visits with doctors and neurologists over the past couple of months, I have been advised to medically retire from the NFL due to a serious neck injury that I suffered this past season,’ he wrote.
‘I am extremely grateful and blessed to have been able to live out my childhood dream of playing football at the highest level for the past three years. Football has taught me many life lessons and given me unforgettable memories.
Arizona Cardinals star Travis Vokolek has announced his retirement from football at age 28
The tight end suffered a horrific severe neck injury last October that saw him carted off
He shared that doctors had advised him to retire from the sport following the injury
‘I am forever grateful to all my teammates, coaches, trainers, and others who have supported my family and I along the way. A sincere thank you to the Arizona Cardinals training staff for being first class with the care and support they provided my family and I during this hard time.’
He also thanked his wife for supporting him through the ‘ups and downs’ of his NFL career.
‘She has never wavered and has been extremely supportive through it all,’ he added.
He continued: ‘I have attacked everyday of being a professional football player with passion, determination, and discipline. I can say that I truly left everything out on the field. Thank you for all of the love and support. Lastly, thank you football!’
Vokolek was placed on a stretcher and taken off the field on a golf cart after injuring his neck on a kickoff return against the Indianapolis Colts last October.
Vokolek was left flat on his back, not moving, after trying to block Colts linebacker Segun Olubi. Trainers quickly rushed onto the field to tend to the former Nebraska player as players from both teams gathered around him. Some took a knee.
Vokolek was placed onto a backboard, then lifted onto the cart before giving a thumbs-up as the cart drove through one of the field’s tunnels. A few minutes later, he was ruled out of the game with the injury.
He played college football with Rutgers and Nebraska before being signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2023.
He didn’t see any action on the field with the Ravens, however, and went on to sign with the Cardinals in December of that year.
